DJ Premier
REM State of Mind (Nas parody)
[Intro]
Yeah yeah…
Yo Walker, it’s time, man...
It’s time, man
Straight out the fuckin’ spindles of sleep
Where undergrads don’t get a peep
(Get it? consolidation of memories? all nighters?)

[Verse 1]
Students, they’re flippin’ crazy with the ways that they be lazy
Lazy? I’m talkin’ bout their sleep, it’s insane!
Now think of Scarface sniffin’ cocaine
What directors don’t tell you, what drugs do to the brain
I’m talking REM deprivation after coke administration
Then coke withdrawal nightmares will have ya contemplatin’
Try to get it back but your brain ain’t getting jack
Diminishing returns on REM, same goes for crack and smack
Rapid Eye Movement, the phase of sleep our brains adore
Crucial for life, mem’ry, hunger and more
If you don’t get your eight hours, well, your mind will flip
Don’t believe me? Reminisce on Peter Tripp
Part radio DJ, part sleep-deprived psychotic
I ain't jokin’, and Tripp didn’t use narcotics
All he did was stay awake for 8 whole days
While psychiatrists sat back and watched him amazed
No Rem sleep means no lures in McDermitt
Amazing how he even stayed alive through that shit
After just four days, seeing things that weren’t real
There were spiders in his shoes, staff were poisoning his meals
Psychiatrists tried to tell him he’s in danger
But his PFC turned off so his amygdala was full of anger
So now tripp’s suspended in Times Square
Sleep deprived as he be now he’s seeing demons everywhere
And now his brain ain’t the same
Permanent damage and psychosis, was it worth it for the fame?
If you don’t catch Zs, you’re pretty much a goner
Tripp shows us the effect deprivation has on us
Even worse than that, there’s studies done on rats
Showed us we can’t live without sleep, yo that’s a fact
Two rats in a cage, one can't be caught sleepin’
While the other rat can do just as he pleases
Every time he nods off, into water he drops
And after fifteen days, the tired rat’s heart stops
Fifteen day death, the effect of deprivation
What’s more than that, the rats lost their thermoregulation
Immune system down ‘fore their last breath
I always sleep, ‘cause sleep helps performance on tests
Beyond the L-PFC, dreams are defined
Brain redesigns in when you're in a rem state of mind

[Hook] (x4)
REM state of mind

[Verse 2]
But in case that ain’t enough, sleep loss causin’ death
Maybe you’ll be persuaded by its effect on stress
Up cortisol shot, after one night lost
Stress hormone up, but is it really such a shock?
If you’re stressed as fuck cause you're such a night owl
The worst has yet to come when your stomach starts to growl
I’m talking messed up levels of leptin, and ghrelin
Eat more and don’t get full, and on top of that you’re stressin’
Not sleepin’ makes you forget answers
They looked at some rats, specifically their hippocampus
Neurologists and their sadistic ways
This time though, the rats weren’t in a maze
A box lab rats packed, onto islands they’re trapped
In REM they fall down ‘cause their muscle tone lacks
After four nights scientists come back
Rat’s hippocampal cells, and the levels were all whack
Hippocampus sorta like the memory zone
Four nights without REM and you’re mem’ry zone’s blown, holmes
Sleep is crucial for mem’ries in your brain
All-nighters parallel to Hell but the students maintain
They’re not prosperous, sleep loss is dangerous
Don’t remember what they read the next day, if only they’d nodded off
Rapid Eye Movements help to build associations
Twenty minute nap better than a night of deprivation
Remember mo’, through waves slow
Slow-wave amplification helps with your consolidation
So when you’re studying take nap breaks
You’ll remember more of what you studied when ya test-take
Cal students never sleep, whether you’re econ or EECS
You’d think they’ve learned the interaction of mem’ry and sleep
SAT scores, you see more, after just fifty-five minutes
Now think about your midterms, that’s kinda crazy innit?
Inhale deep, now go get you some rest
I always sleep, ‘cause sleep helps performance on tests
Consolidating memories from earlier times
Nothing’s equivalent to the REM state of mind
[Hook]